Dealing with Trauma
by nickijae
Summary: Part 4 of the Nightwing is Den Mother series! Nightwing is at the cave when he gets a call about a female alien in Jump City. He takes the team with him to meet the alien woman and in the process teaches them an important lesson.


Nightwing was in the cave when it happened. He heard the telltale buzzing in his ear signifying that someone was about to talk. "Nightwing." Batman's gruff voice came over the comm.

Walking away from the team slightly, Nightwing responded. "What's up Boss?"

Batman made a small sound of annoyance and Nightwing knew that he had managed to make his father smile slightly and shake his head. "I need you to take care of an alien threat. She seems to be in shackles and is shooting green laser bolts from her hands and eyes."

Nightwing straightened slightly. "Should I bring the team?" Hearing this, the team sat up straighter and stared at Nightwing trying to discern what was going on.

"If you think they're ready. Though, I do like the idea of you having backup." Batman growled through the comm.

Nightwing knew that his father was nervous and hated the idea of being unable to help. Batman had been injured the previous week when they had been fighting Two Face. It would be at least another week before he was allowed to patrol again. Softening his voice slightly, he switched to his native Romani so that the team would not understand him. Not even Robin, had learned the language well enough to follow a conversation. "Hei tată, te iubesc. Și mă voi întoarce în viață și într-o singură bucată, îți promit."

He heard his father's breath hitch before he responded. "Și eu te iubesc, micul meu pasăre." Both of them paused and savored the private moment. Bruce grunted signaling that they were out of time before disconnecting their conversation.

Nightwing took a second to wipe the small smile off his face before turning around. Scanning the team briefly, he said, "Go suit up. I'll brief you on the way."

* * *

Nightwing sat in the front of the Bioship before turning around to face the rest of the team. He saw that Robin was trying to get a read on him, but he made sure to keep his face neutral and unreadable. "In Jump City, there is a female alien who seems to have escaped her captures as she is still wearing chains. We do not know what she wants as she does not seem to be able to speak any language from Earth. She is considered a threat as she is currently shooting green laser bolts from her eyes and hands at anyone who gets near her. It is currently unknown if she has any other powers." Seeing that they had just arrived over Jump City, Nightwing added, "Be cautious, and be aware. She just escaped her captures, she's going to spook easily so talking may not work."

Nightwing walked out of the Bioship and onto the roof with the team following. They were on the roof of a building nearby to where the alien girl was located. He watched as Kaldur gave the orders and the team jumped off the roof. Silently he followed, allowing himself to freefall before opening his arms sharply to activate the Wing Suit.

He landed silently behind the team, blending into the shadows as he watched the team try to talk to the woman. She was wearing a revealing purple dress, with her red hair tumbling down her back. Her green eyes seemed to be lacking a pupil and on closer inspection, he found that the pupil was just a darker shade of green. Her skin was orange, but it was a pretty shade that reminded Nightwing of the sunset. But what really struck Nightwing was the fear that encompassed her body.

He could tell that she did not know what the team was trying to say to her. That she could only see the weapons on their body's and that scared her even more. Although Dick did not know what she was saying, he could give a good guess. She wanted them to leave her alone. To go away, and the team did not seem to understand that. Instead, Ms. Martian floated closer to her and reached to grab her, the woman immediately yelled out and shot her laser bolts at the martian.

When Miss Martian was attacked, Superboy charged the woman yelling in rage. The woman was able to grab him by his shirt and throw him away from her. So she was strong too. Nightwing briefly wondered if she was some sort of alien species that was related to Kryptonian.

Seeing that the team was getting their asses kicked Nightwing sighed. He was hoping that the team would be able to figure out how to handle the situation by reading her body language. Now he had to clean up their mess and calm the obviously distressed alien without distressing her further. Nobody said being a hero was easy.

* * *

She was scared. The people in the brightly colored suits kept yelling at her and attacking. She had heard rumors of there being Green Lanterns on this planet, and she had been hoping to find one to protect her. Now, she was battling these people who would not stop pointing their weapons at her. She was too weak to fly away and she could feel the strength leaving her as she continued to fight. Soon they would capture her, she could only hope a Green Lantern showed up before that happened.

Suddenly a voice sounded behind her."You know, they were trying to help you. They're heroes, not villains." Spinning around almost violently, she saw a man sitting on the vehicle behind her. He lifted his hand in a wave before lowering it and continuing to sit with his legs crossed. How had he managed to sneak up behind her? She had heard nothing!

Nightwing turned away from the alien woman briefly and looked at the team. They looked ready to attack again. "Team!" He barked out. "Stand down, and take a walk. Don't come back until Superboy is calm." The team looked at him in shock and made no move to leave. "Now!" The team walked away sending one last glance at Nightwing, before disappearing around a corner.

The woman looked at him in shock. He offered a smile before calmly pointed at himself and said, "Nightwing." When she gave him a look of confusion he once again pointed to himself and said, "Nightwing. I work with the Justice League." Still seeing her confusion he made a silly face. When she giggled, he made a big show of pretending to have a big idea. "I work with the Green Lanterns."

Recognition flashed across her face, and she gave him a suspicious glance. "You need the Green Lanterns? I can call them." When she did not respond he figured that he would call them anyways. Aliens were a part of their job after all. Putting a finger on his comm, he kept eye contact while he said, "Justice League come in." Pausing as he heard the response from whoever was in the monitor womb. "I need the Green Lanterns down in Jump City. Please send Hal and John." With that, he closed off communications.

The woman was still watching him wearily, and even took a frightened step back as he stood up. Nightwing pointed at her hands and offered softly, "Do you want me to take those off?" He knew that she could not understand what he was saying, but from experience he knew that hearing people talk to you in soft tones was calming. He remembered when Bruce first adopted him and he barely spoke any English. Bruce had started to learn Romani while he himself had started to learn English. Even when he had no clue what Bruce was saying to him, the soft tones and gentle touches had calmed him immensely.

The woman slowly offered her hands to him and slowly, so she could see what he was doing he took out a lock pick. She gave it a wary look, but he gave her a gentle smile and she relaxed slightly. He worked quickly and effectively, unlocking the shackles on her hands. When they fell away she surprised him by wrapping him into a tight hug. Slowly, he raised his arms and returned her hug. What happened next, however, was what really shocked him.

* * *

Robin and the team were walking back to Nightwing and the alien. He knew that his brother had made the right call forcing them to walk away, but it still hurt that his brother did not trust him. Granted, they had obviously distressed the woman, and Nightwing was known not only for charming women, but his for his ability with languages. Obviously, he could not speak the alien language, but he was probably able to understand the gist of what she was saying through her body language and her tone.

It had taken a while to calm Superboy, who was still angry that the alien had dared attack Ms. Martian. Robin had tried to explain that M'gann had scared the woman and she had reacted instinctively. Superboy had not cared, but eventually Ms. Martian had calmed him down enough for them to walk back to Nightwing.

When they rounded the corner, they met a shocking sight. Not only had the woman allowed Nightwing to take the cuffs off her wrists, she had her arms thrown around his neck. They watched as Nightwing slowly hugged her back, before the woman pulled away slightly. Then she did something that made their jaws drop.

The alien slanted her lips over Nightwing's and kissed him, hard. Robin watched bewildered before raising his hand to his ear and activating his comm unit. "Batman?" He questioned softly. When he heard Bruce's grunt, he continued. "Are you sure that Nightwing does not have a metagene? Because he just got a rampaging alien to not only allow him to approach her, but she just kissed him. Now they're making out."

* * *

When the woman finally pulled away, Nightwing needed a moment to catch his breath. He could not help but kiss her back and now she was watching him curiously. "Wow." He said panting slightly. "What was that for?"

The woman smiled brilliantly at him before saying, "Wow indeed. I am Koriand'r of Tameran. My kind can learn languages through lip contact."

Nightwing gave her a bewildered look before grinning. "That is useful. My name is Nightwing, and I am a member of the Justice League. You seemed to recognize the Green Lantern Corps, so I asked the Justice League to send the Green Lanterns for you." Seeing the team approaching, Nightwing nodded to them. Immediately Koriand'r tensed.

Nightwing placed a gentle hand on her arm. Speaking up so that they could hear him, he said, "This is Young Justice. They're heroes in training, and unfortunately did not handle your situation properly. I'm sure they are here to apologize to you."

He gave the team a pointed look and they all mumbled out apologies. Koriand'r turned to Nightwing and asked, "Are you their mentor?"

The team looked at her in shock. She did not know any English when they had last seen her, and now she was fluent? Nightwing turned to them and said, "Koriand'r is from Tameran. Apparently, they can learn languages through lip contact." Turning away from the team he answered Koriand'r's original question. "I am one of their mentors. My father is in charge of the team and my brother is on the team." He said while gesturing to Robin.

Koriand'r turned to Robin curiously. She studies him before saying, "You have a kind brother. I have never met a soul as gentle and understanding as him, even though he could not literally understand me."

Robin smiled brightly at the praise as if she was complimenting him and not his brother. "I know. He's my favorite brother."

Nightwing immediately started to scold him about having favorites, yet alone naming them. Robin argued back that Red Hood and Blackbird thought of Nightwing as their favorite brother too. Koriand'r watched for a minute before interrupting by gently placing a hand on Nightwing's shoulder. "You have other brothers?" When Nightwing nodded, she continued. "I would like to meet them." This led to Nightwing excitedly telling her about each of his brothers.

* * *

When Hal and John finally arrived, they saw a red headed woman talking animatedly with Nightwing. When Nightwing saw them, he bounded up to them and gave them each a hug and slap on the back. Then he dragged them back to the red head. "Guys, this is Koriand'r of Tameran. Kori, this is Hal Jordan and John Stewart of the Green Lantern Corp. Kori here wanted to talk to you." With that Nightwing allowed Kori to explain how she had escaped captivity and had come to Earth because she had heard that there were Green Lanterns there.

Finally after she was done explaining her tale, the two Green Lanterns looked at each other. "Nightwing, do you think Daddybats would freak if we asked you to take her back to the cave for a week while we talk with the other Green Lanterns and figure out a plan?" Hal asked.

Nightwing snorted. "You know he won't like it, the real question you're asking is whether or not I'll ignore his wishes." When Hal gave him a pleading look, Nightwing scoffed. "Who do you take me for. I've been ignoring his orders since I was eight. She's more than welcome to stay at the cave as long as I'm there to settle the Boss's nerves."

The team shared a look. Apparently, they were going to have a house guest for the next week.

* * *

When Batman found out that the alien was staying with them at the cave, he was predictably outraged. It had taken Nightwing an hour to convince him it was a good idea, and they had switched languages enough times for Artemis' head to spin. When he finally got off the comm, Nightwing gave them all an exhausted smile. He seemed to share a conversation with Robin through their eyes, before Robin got up and put a movie in the DVD player.

Nightwing gestured for Kori to sit next to him and quietly explained that the TV was playing a story. Robin curled up on his other side, and Nightwing gently pulled his brother's head in his lap where he stroked the boy's hair. His other arm held Kori into his side as she was still jumpy.

* * *

It was Kori's last day with the team and Nightwing had gathered them all together. Turning to Kori he asked, "I was wondering if you could tell the team what they did wrong when they first approached you. I think it would be beneficial for them to hear your side of things, so that they can do better in the future."

Kori nodded her head. "When you first approached me, I did not know what was happening. You had weapons drawn, and then Miss Martian tried to grab me. I was scared and you seemed ready for battle. My reaction may have been extreme but you did not respect my boundaries. Nightwing did it correctly. He sent away what was distressing me, he listened to me despite the fact he could not understand me, his tone was kept gentle, and he remaining relaxed around me, never making sudden movements."

Nightwing cleared his throat when he saw the disheartened looks on the team's faces. "Learning these things take time. You won't get it your first, second, or even third time. I had you try because I wanted to see where each of you were at. People who have gone through trauma need time, you can't rush it. And while your heart may be in the right place, you do not touch them, you allow them to come to you."

Wally looked up slightly and asked, "How long did it take for you to learn?"

Nightwing stared at the ceiling for a minute before facing Wally. "You can't compare my experiences as a hero to your own. We all have different strengths and weaknesses and we all have different experiences."

Artemis turned to him and said, "That's nice and all, but how long did it take you?"

Nightwing sighed. "You have to remember, when Batman took me in, I had just watched both of my parents be murdered and barely spoke any English. I was the posterchild for trauma. So when I first saw a traumatized child when I was Robin, I knew how to handle it because I knew how it felt to be on the other side. I also learned from the way Batman treated me when he took me in. He never initiated contact, but waited for me to do so until I was comfortable touching him. He talked in soft tones, even though I did not know what he was saying. He never made sudden movements. So yes, my first time was a little different than yours, but I was so much more prepared for it than you guys."

As if summoned, Batman walked through the door and into the room. When he saw Nightwing's face his lips twitched slightly downwards and he strode closer to him. Reaching out he ruffled Nightwing's hair, leaving his hand on his head for a moment. Nightwing seemed to brighten with the contact, bouncing back to his usual exuberance.

Spotting Koriand'r Batman told her, "The League has decided that you will be staying at the Watch Tower. There, you will be free to interact with members of the League, and train. The Green Lanterns have informed me that as long as you stay on Earth the species that had you enslaved will be unable to reclaim you. Unfortunately, that means that you will be unable to go back to Tameran."

Turning to Nightwing, Koriand'r asked, "Will you be at the Watch Tower?"

Nightwing gave her a brilliant smile before answering, "I don't live there like some of the other League members, but I do visit there often, and seeing as you'll be there, I'll be sure to visit more often."

Seeing Koriand'r smile in response, Batman shook his head. Maybe he should retest Dick for a metagene. Grabbing Dick by the ear he said, "Come on Romeo, let's bring Juliet home. You can save the love confessions for later."

The team watched as the trio left before Wally turned to face Robin. "Dude. Did Batman just make a joke?"

Robin just shrugged before saying, "It's kinda hard to tell with him. Nightwing seems to be the only one who fully understands his sense of humor."

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 **A/N: So I saw the _Teen Titans: The Judas Contract_ sneak peak and this idea literally took over my mind until I wrote it. I think its going to stay a oneshot, but let me know if you have any ideas for a sequel or a second chapter. Anyways, review!**

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 **And tell me what you think of the story idea with Ra's causing magic zombies and the Bat Clan plus the Team teaming up to defeat him. It would feature a darker Bat Clan as Ra's would be annoying as usual. It would be a part of the Nightwing is Den Mother series**

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 **Have any other inspirational story ideas? Let me know! Either PM me or leave a review!**

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 **Last one! I just wanted to say thank you for all the positive reviews and the encouragement! It makes me happy, and it keeps me writing and updating at a fast pace.**


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